A Little Motivation...

[MamaBristow]

Now I don't know about you guys, but I keep hearing this over and over and over...and I'm kinda getting sick of it.

Going From Bitter to Better

If Whalen had been healthy, if she hadn't smashed a knee and then mashed an ankle in the playoffs, the Sun would be hoisting a WNBA championship banner at the regular season opener May 20.

As if Connecticut was the only team that had to deal with injuries at inconvenient times. As if Sacramento was 100% all season long, through the playoffs, and even in the Finals.

I think this is something that should be posted in the Monarchs' locker room this year. Because I'm sure we're gonna hear this all season long. I've already heard it all off-season. And what's better than a little motivation to start the season?

 

[RoyalDiva]

And if Yolanda had torn her ACL, Ticha had broken her ankle, and DeMya Walker's dog had died, then Sacramento wouldn't be hoisting up the WNBA Championship trophy.



All this "what if" nonsense just permeates the world of sports, every league. It is just the cheap way for the non-winners to make themselves feel better. Instead of just admitting that they flat-out didn't earn the win, they make up excuses to justify why they didn't. I think it's childish and unbecoming of professional athletes to act this way. Real winners persevere through thick and thin, no matter what happens.

 

[Sirius]

If the CT Sun couldn't overcome an injury, that's their problem. We weren't at 100% all year but because of depth and chemistry it didn't really matter. In my opinion Whalen's injury being such a huge loss just proved we were better.

What sore losers.

 

[nancgo]

Mama, I just read that same article over on wnba.com, and thought the same thing. Even if there were no injuries, there's still no guarantee they would've won...on any given night anyone can win. There is no sterile environment where no one will get hurt, strained, or beaten up. Sheez, and sometimes good teams don't have their groove and just play crappy. How many times have we seen that in the Monarch's history, or any other good team?

Too many things affect the game. One stupid call by the refs can change the whole game. One shot by the most unlikely player can shift a team's momentum. The Sun might have won if Whalen was healthy. No one will ever know....that moment is gone, so they need to just move on as well.

 

[RoyalDiva]

They'll never move on and become winners if they don't change their attitudes.

 

[Carole]

Didn't Mohammed Ali say something about that? That most of the game is in psyching out the other guy? If we had believed our injuries would have held us back, they would have. If we had believed that Zachara would hold us back, she would have. All year long others said we would never make it to the finals. It's all part of the game. The team used this to make themselves more determined.

Now we just have to soak up the win and enjoy. All the other teams HAVE to suck lemons because it's all they can do.

And starting NOW, we need to stay on top of our game because they will all be hitting harder, sharpening up their skills, shooting better, because we improved the game of women's basketball. They know we won because of our defense strategy. They will be doing the same thing.

I can't wait to see purple again. Are we there yet?

 

[NothinButHoops]

If Brooke Wycoff does'nt get lucky & hit a 3...then the Monarchs end the series alot sooner... Sorry we win , you lose. That's the beauty of sports.
It's in the record books Sun...sorry it was a back to back loss for you, better luck this year. Oh yeah you'll have to earn it....my violins are playing in the background!
Monarch's are Champs!!!!!

 

[GeorgeofSacramento]

"If the Monarchs hadn't scored more points, they wouldn't have won." And that's my final answer.

 

[bballfan]

I'm tired of the "what ifs" as well. The 2005 championship wasn't entitled to Connecticut. It was anybody's trophy to win, and guess what happened?

I'm sick of the "Lindsay Whalen was hurt" deal. She's not the only PG to have ever played hurt during the playoffs. I feel bad for her injury, but I don't see anywhere written where she is entitled to win the championship. As I recall, Ticha had been the best PG in the league for years before even getting a sniff of the title. Ms. Whalen and the Sun will have to pay their dues before getting a shot at hoisting the trophy.

 

[raybrun]

Clay Kallam disses us too

"There are those who believe that a long regular season tells us more about which is the best team than the very brief WNBA playoffs, and last year's regular season said Connecticut was the best. It's also reasonable to claim that a healthy Whalen changes the outcome of the finals with Sacramento...Look for the Sun to win the East, at the least -- and fully healthy, they will be the favorites to, finally, win it all."

- Clay Kallam today's Fullcourtpress.com


OK guys,we just need to do this again to shut these people up.This talk is already getting old.I actually thought we would get our due by winning it all. My bad. I hope our women are coming in real hungry.

 

[bballfan]

Time to play the "no respect" card.

No...let's not do that. Let's just show them who's boss on the hardwood this summer. Whalen who?

Connecticut needs to be concerned about Detroit since they're quietly reassembling pieces to another WNBA title run.

 

[Monty'sBiggestFan]

Since Whalen is the only reason why they win or don't win, they may want to get and keep her healthy this year.

I'm tired of all the whiney-pants people who forget that we had to play a series without our point guard, and our Finals MVP played the entirety of the post season one-legged and probably would not have been available for game 5. We just happened to channel THAT potential likelihood into a all out effort in the 2nd half to win that deciding game. If CT did not choke away game 4, they MIGHT have won the series. They also MIGHT have won the series if they didn't choke away home court.

 

[StevenHW]

As I recall, Lindsay Whalen played three out of the four WNBA Finals games. And the one that she DIDN'T play (Game #2), her team won!

That's why I don't buy the argument about "Gee, Connecticut could've won if Whalen wasn't injured...", because apparently, she was good enough to play the other games! And her team still lost!

Look at Ticha; she wasn't exactly 100% herself at the time, but she managed to will her way into the championship series.

Here is how I look at it: if DeMya Walker didn't leave Brooke Wycoff out in the open during that last play of Game #2, Wycoff's shot wouldn't have gone in, and the Monarchs could've swept that series!